need advice on scratch removal

[grywll42]

got an 09 stang black in color, i have a few fine scratches nothing deep. Should I use rubbing compound to get them out or polish, I'm scared of ruining the finish going the rubbing compound route, the stuff I have is 5 yrs old and I'm afraid it might be too abraisive for the black finish. Any advice would be appreciated.

 

[chutoyy]

Try some Meguiar's Ultimate Compound.

 

[herbie3417]

even try Mcguiar's scratch X. works well for minor surface scratches. it just can't be to deep but if you say they are small and fine then it should work. i had two small ones on my black car and it took them right out

 

[grywll42]

hey thanks guys for the advice

 

[NastyStang113]

If the scratch can be felt with a finger nail than it will require paint to be fixed correctly. This doesn't mean that you couldn't polish a lot of it out, smooth the scratches edges which will create less of a visual impact. My recommendation is to not use the 5 year old mystery compound. Pick up some Meguiars Scratch-X like previously mentioned and see what happens. Maybe a good time to read up on the detailing sticky!

 

[grywll42]

Thanks for the advice. I read the detailing thread, kinda was a eyeopener to me. I never realized I have been washing and drying a car wrong all these years, I guess I am too old school with using bath towels and such to wash and dry my car.I am 51,lol so cut me some slack now. Thanks again, I'll try the meguires.

 

[AustinGT]

Fender scratch repair

Hey everyone,

This is my first post and I am hoping that you can help me out. I just got my '05 GT a few weeks ago and within the first two weeks someone put a pretty good scratch in the fender. It is through the clear coat.

I have watched some videos about using really, really fine grit sand paper or even emery paper, but I am really nervouse to do that and then follow up with Ford color match paint.

Anyone have any other solutions? Thanks.

AustinGT

 

[DKS]

Hey everyone,

This is my first post and I am hoping that you can help me out. I just got my '05 GT a few weeks ago and within the first two weeks someone put a pretty good scratch in the fender. It is through the clear coat.

I have watched some videos about using really, really fine grit sand paper or even emery paper, but I am really nervouse to do that and then follow up with Ford color match paint.

Anyone have any other solutions? Thanks.

AustinGT

If you've never done this type of thing before I don't suggest you practice on your car. I also don''t suggest you use emery paper on your paint. Like Nasty said above, if you can feel it, It's going to need to be painted to fix it. I'm very good at touching up chips where they are not even noticeable, but scratches are a little more difficult usually.

Do you have any Pix of what you are talking about?

 

[AustinGT]

I'll try and snap a picture when it warms up.

 

[Sinergyms]

The main thing to understand is there is no "filling in the scratches". Any polishing product has abrasives that will remove the clear around the scratch until it is all level.

Hence the reason you want to find the least abrasive product that will get the job done.

Rubbing compound is one of the last hopes of getting something "removed", there are plenty of good products that are less abrasive that will give you equal results without taking your clear all off.

Also remember, that the more abrasive the product the more smaller swirls and scratches you will introduce.

 

[AustinGT]

If you've never done this type of thing before I don't suggest you practice on your car. I also don''t suggest you use emery paper on your paint. Like Nasty said above, if you can feel it, It's going to need to be painted to fix it. I'm very good at touching up chips where they are not even noticeable, but scratches are a little more difficult usually.

Do you have any Pix of what you are talking about?

Here is a quick pic of the area I mentioned. Taken from my iphone so the detail may be missing.

 

[Walshyboy1220]

I just took of some scratches last night, I picked up a meguiars ultimate compound and one of there microfiber towels. Took about 2 coats of medium compound put on it and it came right out. then i clay bar it and waxed it and couldnt tell the difference

 

[DKS]

Is the scratch the "7" shaped dark shape? That's looks dark where a scratch would usually look lighter colored. Are you sure it's a scratch. I've seen markings on cars that look just like scratches that will come right off with some polish or compound. Try to clay it first just in case.

It's not going to hurt to hit it with some scratch x or Ultimate Compound and see what happens. At least it will probably make it less noticeable. Be sure to re-wax or seal afterwords since the compound will take the wax or sealant off.

If it doesn't help it, you might want to get some professional help. It takes a lot of patience, skill, and luck to get a scratch that size fixed without painting the entire panel if it's deep enough to feel. Especially on a car that's not black or white, IMO

 

[Motivology]

I plan on smoking my tail lenses and front markers and one of the processes is that you would need to use a wet sand grid paper to take the paint off. After I add coats of clear and smoke (and letting them dry), which stuff would work the best for me in order to smoothen or take out the scratches? I would like to make the final results look nice and smooth. Any help would be great.

 

[DKS]

I plan on smoking my tail lenses and front markers and one of the processes is that you would need to use a wet sand grid paper to take the paint off. After I add coats of clear and smoke (and letting them dry), which stuff would work the best for me in order to smoothen or take out the scratches? I would like to make the final results look nice and smooth. Any help would be great.

Use an ultra fine grit sand paper to scuff the factory surface (wet sand). Clean them with paint thinner and get then nice and clean.Spray them with the tint. Then use more ultra fine grit to wet sand them before the clear coat.
Once they are clear coated, wet sand them again. Then use Meguire's ultimate compound to polish out the sand marks and make them slick and shiny. If you take your time and don't get dust in them or let them run they will look great.

 

[Motivology]

Use an ultra fine grit sand paper to scuff the factory surface (wet sand). Clean them with paint thinner and get then nice and clean.Spray them with the tint. Then use more ultra fine grit to wet sand them before the clear coat.
Once they are clear coated, wet sand them again. Then use Meguire's ultimate compound to polish out the sand marks and make them slick and shiny. If you take your time and don't get dust in them or let them run they will look great.

Thanks for the info! I'll give it a shot.

 

[Mike in SC]

After reading this thread I became a believer in ScratchX 2.0. I removed a dealership decal from my trunk lid w/ my fingernail and put some fine scratches in the clearcoat. Thought that I would have to pay for a Body Shop rub-out. Not now! Can't even tell that I butchered it. My bad but Meguiar's good. Feeling very red-faced.

 

[Speed+Clinic]

Try some Meguiar's Ultimate Compound.

[/IMG]

Ill try that stuff to see, btw im pretty sure those 5 guys took care of that scratch! Just kidding.